Shoe counter



Feb. 5, 1 35.

A; c. ENGEL SHOE COUNTER Filed June 27, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I77U6i7Z O7 Feb. 5, 1935. A. c. ENEL 1,990,215

SHOE COUNTER Filed June 27,1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Iwvewfor art/1:01 U. EflgeZ 6L9 w z i/lm dd' rimmed Feb. s, 1935 UNITED f STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,990,275 SHOE comma Arthur .C. Engel, Haverhill, Mass. Application June 27,- 1934, Serial No. 732,628

8 Claims. (Cl. 36-8.5)

The present invention relates to shoe counters and blanks therefor, and more particularly to counters, especially of the molded type, in which the shank portion ofthe counter is disposed obliquely to the center line of the shoe, and the sides of which extend opposite the said oblique shank part of the shoe. The invention is not, however, restricted to'molded-type counters.

The sides of counters of the above-described character have heretofore either been of the short type, so as to extend substantially-as far as the said oblique shank part of the shoe, or else they have "-been of the long type, so as to extend a substantial distance therebeyond. The shorter sides haveafforded no support for the arch of the foot; and the longer sides have been objectionable, because endowing the shoe with an undesired stiffness.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a shoe counter with an arch .support, though providing it with flexibility.

Other and further objects will be explained hereinafter, and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention will now be explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which Fig. 1 is a plan of a shoe having embodied therein the novel counter of the present invene tion; Fig. 2 is an inverted perspeetive,'showing the novel counter on a last; Fig. 3 is a section, taken upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a view of a counter blank embodying the present invention, upon a larger scale than in Figs. 1 to 3; Fig. 5 is a perspective, on the same, larger scale,

of the novel counter, in positionupon a foot,

shown in dotted lines; Fig. 6 is an elevation of a modified shoe, with parts broken away, to show a modified counter; and Fig. '7 is a plan, upon a reduced scale, of a prior-art insole.

The counter of the present invention is of the type that 'is made of sheet material, such as leather or fibre. In sheet-blank form, it is shown in Fig. 4, having sides 4 and 6 extending in opposite directions from the intermediate part. It

is shown molded into U-form in Figs. 1 to 3,

5 and 6, with the inner side 4 disposed at a slight obliquity to the center line 2 of the shoe into which it is built, and with the outer side more or less parallel thereto, as appears clearly in Fig.- 1. The inner and outer sides 4 and 6 of the counter both extend opposite to the said oblique, shank part of the shoe and are provided with an inturned bottom flange 8 that thus separated from the flange 8 by a narrow comes provided with the arch rest 20, yet is as flexible, by reason of the presence of the recess extends continuously from the front end portion 10 of the side 4 to the front end portion 12 of the side 8. The flange 8 may be bent out of the blank along a line 9, substantially parallel to the bottom edge 11 of the blank, as illustrated 5 in Fig. 4, which line' 9 becomes the bottom of the molded counter. The flange 8 may be slashed at' 13, as described in Letters Patent 1,700,885, dated February 5, 1929. The counters will be formed as rights and lefts, a left being illus- 10.

trated.

The inner side portion 4 extends beyond the outer side portion 6 of the shoe, to the said front end 10, and is intermediately provided with a recess 14 at a-point adjacent to the heel of the 15 shoe, as shown more particularly in Fig. 6. The longer side 4' should preferably be somewhat shorter than the before-mentioned, long counters though, of course, substantially longer than the said short counters. The recess 14 is shown ,with 20 a rounded bottom, but it may have any other desired shape, such'as a V-shape. The recess 14 extends from the upper edge 16 of the side 4 to a point 18 adjacent to the flange 8, being 25 connecting neck 19. The recess 14 is relatively wide at the said upper edge 16 and relatively narrow at the said point 18, as shown. A lip 20 is thus formed in the side 4, opposite the shank part of the shoe, beyond the recess 14, and between the recess, 14 and the said front end 10. The lip 20 is very much shorter in height, from the flange8 to the upper edge 16, than the body portion of the side 4. This lip 20 is adapted to be builtinto the shoe to form an arch rest, as shown.

By reason of this construction, and because of the flexible nature of the leathc: or fibre of which the counter is constituted, the shoe be- 14, as though the side.4 were as short as the side 6. Because of this flexibility, the shoe laces 22 may be drawn tighter or looser to conform to the shape of the wearer's foot, and as the comfort of the individual wearer may dictate.

The bottom 18 of the recess 14 should be as low down near the flange 8 as possible, in order to enhance the flexibility. It should not, however; be so low down as to render the connecting neck 19 too weak to hold the parts together. The neck 19 may, however,-be reinforced, in any desired way, as by hardening it with shellac, glue or the like, or by applying a cemented tap 21 thereto, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The flexibility .will not be substantially lessened by this expedient, nor will the counter blank become hardened thereby to too great an extent to interfere with the molding operation.

The present invention does away with the necessity of providing the inner side of the shank of the insole 24, illustrated in Fig. 7, with an arch-supporting lip. 26, as has often been the practice heretofore. The arch-supporting lip 20 of the present invention is not, furthermore, subject to the objection of inflexibility of the beforementioned, long counters. Not only are such long counters so stiff as to be uncomfortable, moreover, but they slide up and down in the heel of the shoe, particularly when built into light oxfords, or womens light shoes. All these objections are overcome by the present invention, providing the advantages of an arch support combined with flexibility and comfort.

In addition to these advantages, the use of the present invention reduces the cost of manufacture of shoes made with the said insoles 24 having arch-support lips 26, but it does not increase the cost of shoes made with the longer counters before-mentioned. To lessen the cost of such insoles 24, furthermore, their integral arch supports 26 are made relatively small, while the arch supports 20 of the present invention are quite substantial in size, with no added expense. Connected with the use of the said insoles 24, furthermore, the shoe manufacturer is obliged to carry complete sets of equipment, such as beating-out forms and sole patterns, of every size and width needed for every last. Using the present invention, on the other hand, the manufacturer need only order the proper-size counter from the counter manufacturer. Even if the counter is not of exactly the right size, it will conform more closely to a group of lasts than the said long counters of the prior art, because of its extreme flexibility, so that the counter manufacturer, too, is saved the necessity ofmanufacturing. so many and varied sizes and styles as is the case with One mold the long, stiff, prior-art counters. suffices to make counters for a whole group of lasts. In fact, the manufacturer may use the same molds that are employed in making the said side of the counter the same amount, so as to produce a properly fitting and shaped shoe. As a consequence, fewer shoes become mis-shaped in the manufacturing process.

The invention is, finally, a boon to the wearer of the shoe. He has a larger and firmer support for his arch in the lip 20 of the present invention than in the lip 26 of the prior-art insoles 24, but without the stiffness that is inherent in the long counters hereinbefore described, and accompanied by a maximum of relief. As shownmore particularly in Fig. 5, the foot fits snugly, comfortably and firmly into the counter and the arch supporting lip'20.

According to the present invention, therefore, there is provided a flexible counter having all the advantages of the arch-supporting insoles of the prior art, but at greatly reduced cost, besides having additional advantages for the counter manufacturer, the shoe manufacturer, and the shoe operator.

Modifications will occur to persons skilled in the art, and all such are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1 A counter of sheet material molded into U- form for use in a shoe and having both its sides extending opposite the shank part of the shoe, one of the sides having a recess at a point adjacent to the heel of the shoe, the said recess extending from the upper edge of the said one side to near the bottom of the said one side, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess opposite the shank part of the shoe, the lip being of less height than the body of the said one side but substantially higher than the bottom of the recess and being adapted to form an arch rest.

2. A counter of sheet material molded into U- form for use in a shoe and having both its sides extending opposite the shank part of the shoe and having an inturned bottom flange extending from one front end portion to the other front end portion of the sides, one of the sides extending'beyond the other side, there being a recess in the said one side at a point adjacent to the heel of the shoe, the said recess extending from the upper edge of the said one side to a point adjacent tothe flange, and the said recess being relatively wide at the said upper edge and relatively narrow at the said point adjacent to the flange, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess opposite the shank part of the shoe, the lip being of less height than the body of the said one side and being adapted to form an arch rest.

3. A counter of sheet material molded into U- form for use in a shoe and having both its sides extending opposite the shank part of the shoe, one of the sides having a recess at a point adjacentto the heel of the shoe, the sa'id recess extending from the upper edge of the said one side to near the bottom of the said one side, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess opposite the shank part of the,

shoe, the lip being of less height than the body of the said one side and being adapted to form an arch rest, and the connecting neck between 'the lip and the body of the said one side being reinforced. I

4. A sheet blank for a counter adapted to be bent into U-form for use in a shoe and having two sides extending in opposite directions from an intermediate part and having a bottom flange adapted to be bent out of the body of the blank, there being a recess in one of the sides at a point extending from the upper edge of the said one side to a point adjacent to the line of bend for the flange, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess, the lip being adapted to be positioned near the shank part of the shoe so as to form an arch rest when the counter is embodied in a shoe.

'5.A sheet blank for a counter adapted to be bent into U-form for use in a. shoe and having two sides extending in opposite directions from an intermediate part and having a bottom flange adapted to be bent out of the body of the blank, there being a recessin one of the sides at a point extending from the upper edge of the said one side to a point adjacent to the line of bend for 4 the flange, and the said recess being relatively wide at the said upper edge and relatively nar-' row at the said lower edge, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess, the lip being adapted to be positioned near' the shank part of the shoe so as to form an arch rest when the counter is embodied in a shoe.

6. A sheet blank for a counter adapted to be bent into U-form for use in a shoe and having two sides extending in opposite directions from an intermediate part and having a bottom flange adapted to be bent out of the body of the blank, there being a recess in one of the sides at a point extending from the upper edge of the said when the counter is embodied in a'shoe, and the connecting neck between the lip and the body of the said one side being reinforced.

7. A counter of sheet material of U-shape for use in a shoe and having both its sides extending opposite the shank part of the shoe and having an inturned bottom flange extending from: one front end portion to the other front end portion of the sides, one of the sides having a recess at a point adjacent to the heel of the shoe, the said recess extending from the upper edge of the said one side to a point adjacent to the flange, and the said recess being relatively wide at the said upper edge and relatively narrow at the said point adjacent to the flange, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess opposite the shank part of the shoe, the lip being of less height than the body of the said one side and being adapted to form an arch rest.

8. A sheet blank for a counter adapted to be shaped into U-form for use in a shoe and having two sides extending in opposite directions from an intermediate part, there being a recess in one of the sides at a point extending from the upper edge of the said one side to near the bottom of the said one side, whereby a lip is formed in the said one side beyond the recess, the lip being of less height than the body of the said one'side but substantially higher than the bottom of the recess and being adapted to be positioned near the shank part of the shoe so as to form an arch rest when the counter is embodied in a. shoe.

'AR'I'HUR C. ENGEL. 

